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Diet of the maned wolf, Chrysocyon brachyurus (Mammalia: Canidae), during wet and dry seasons at Ibitipoca State Park, Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2001

M. Aragona  and
E. Z. F. Setz
M. Aragona
Affiliation:
Universidade Estadual Paulista, Departamento de Ecologia, Rio Claro, SP, 13506-900, Brazil
E. Z. F. Setz
Affiliation:
Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Departamento de Zoologia, Campinas, SP, 13083-970, Brazil
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Abstract

Analysis of 141 scats of maned wolf Chrysocyon brachyurus collected in a region of upland forest and meadows of south-eastern Brazil yielded 351 food items in the wet season (60 scats) and 407 in the dry season (81 scats). Scarabaeidae and rodents were the most frequent animal food in both seasons, complemented by birds in the wet season and unidentified mammals in the dry season. Seeds revealed Solanum lycocarpum to be the most frequent plant food in the dry season and an Annonaceae and a Cactaceae the most frequent in the wet season. A total of 33 seed morphospecies were retrieved. Although our results reveal some shared and some divergent trends from dietary studies undertaken in savanna (‘cerrado’) areas, we found a very high frequency of potentially harmful tourists' garbage. This highlights the necessity for better environmental education and confirms that the maned wolf is a generalist and opportunist omnivore.

Keywords

Chrysocyon brachyurusdietseasontourism
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Zoology , Volume 254 , Issue 1 , May 2001 , pp. 131 - 136
Copyright
© 2001 The Zoological Society of London

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